Book Freak 156: A Field Guide to Thriving in Tough Times
Four pieces of advice from "Firefighter Zen"
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This week’s book recommendation is Firefighter Zen, which shares life lessons from over 30 years of author Hersch Wilson's experiences as a volunteer firefighter. Wilson draws wisdom from the intense and challenging situations he has faced to provide insights on how to stay calm, find courage, and maintain humanity during difficult times.
It’s a guide for not only firefighters and first responders, but for anyone looking to cultivate resilience, perspective, and purpose in the face of chaos and tragedy.
Here are four pieces of advice from the book:
Maintain perspective on what is within your control
Wilson defines emergencies, problems, and inconveniences as three distinct and very different things. An emergency involves a threat to someone's health or safety. A problem is something that has a solution. An inconvenience is just that — something that's annoying but not life-threatening.
Stay calm and clear-headed no matter what
To stay calm in extreme situations, says Wilson, you must recognize and then drop the victim story that you are inevitably telling yourself. (“Why is this happening to me?”) Then stop, breathe, and ask yourself: “What is the next right thing to do?”
Face the dragon of crisis head-on
When the dragons come, you must get under the smoke, into the heat of the crisis itself, and defeat the dragon on its own turf. Avoiding or running from the dragon will only increase its power over you.
Be of service to others as the path to healing
After suffering a tragedy, we must each walk the grief road in our own way. But we will heal faster if we can turn our attention outward, engage in acts of service and kindness for others.
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